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A+ - Core Hardware and Operating Systems Exams
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1.1 Identify the operating system’s functions, structure, and major system files to navigate the operating system and how to get to needed technical information. Major Operating System functions Create folders In explorer click on the drive or folder you want to create the new folder in, next choose the file menu, click new, and then folder. Checking OS Version Windows 3.x or Windows NT 3.51
Windows 95/98/ME/2000/CE
Windows NT 4.0
Major Operating System components Explorer.exe is the default shell of Windows, just as command.com is the shell of DOS. Explorer controls all direct interaction between the user and windows. It determines what you see on the screen and what you use to work with it. The desktop, my computer, start menu, and the windows explorer file manager etc. are all part of explorer. My Computer When you double click the icon you can access drives, printers, and other systems folders from here. Also by right clicking a drive icon in my computer, you can access sharing (if file and print sharing is enabled) where you can set security for that drive. If you right click the icon for my computer on the desktop, and select properties you can access version info, the device manager, hardware manager, and system performance settings. Control Panel
Windows 2000
System, Configuration, and User Interface files IO.SYS Found in the root directory. DOS has two hidden system files. The first, IO.SYS, which must be the first entry in the root directory. MSDOS.SYS is the second entry. Windows 9x uses a new, IO.SYS, which replaces the DOS system files IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS. This real-mode operating system file contains the information needed to start the computer. Your computer no longer needs CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to start the Windows 9x operating system (these files are preserved for backward compatibility with certain applications and drivers). Most of the common functions provided by the CONFIG.SYS are now provided by default in the windows version of IO.SYS. The following lists the common entries in CONFIG.SYS that are now incorporated into IO.SYS for Windows 9x.
The values in Io.sys cannot be edited, to override values in Windows 9x Io.sys, place the entry in Config.sys with the value you want. For example Io.sys does not load Emm386.exe. If any of your applications requires expanded memory or loads data into the high memory area, EMM386 must be loaded in Config.sys. BOOT.INI Used in Win NT and 2000 WIN.COM performs checks and loads the core components of Windows. (Kernel, User and GUI) If windows is not shut down properly, WIN.COM will run Scandisk. You can type WIN at the command prompt to start Windows. MSDOS.SYS is a hidden system file,found in root directory. It contains settings that are processed during startup. Windows renames the DOS version to msdos.dos and replaces it with its own version. It is divided into two sections. Example MSDOS.SYS file
CONFIG.SYS DOS configuration file which loads the device drivers, not necessary to run Windows but retained for backward compatibility. Memory management Conventional 1k-640k it is used by DOS for applications and TSR's.(Terminate and Stay Resident) programs. Upper memory 640k-1024k loads DOS device drivers in Upper memory to free up conventional memory for DOS applications. High memory 1024k - 1088k Reserved for use by single application. Extended memory 1088k and above allows DOS applications to be able to access RAM outside of the first 640k. Virtual memory refers to the fact that the operating system can actually allocate more memory than the computer physically contains. This memory is actually hard disk space in the form of a windows swap file. HIMEM.SYS Extended memory manager. Coordinates the use of your computer's extended memory including the HMA so that no two applications or device drivers use the same memory at the same time. EMM386.exe Provides access to the upper memory area and uses extended memory to simulate expanded memory.
IO.SYS The win 95 file IO.SYS, replaces both of the DOS IO.SYS and MSDOS.SYS files. This file contains the information needed to start the computer. You no longer need CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT to start Windows, but these files are kept for some drivers and programs that use still them. The drivers loaded by default in win 9x IO.SYS include :
Most of the entries that used to be in your CONFIG.SYS are now included in the win 9x IO.SYS IO.SYS does not load EMM386.EXE. If any application requires expanded memory , EMM386 must be loaded in CONFIG.SYS. To override default values in Windows 95 IO.SYS enter the value you want in your config.sys WIN.INI This used to contain user and program settings. The registry replaces the basic functions of the ini files used in earlier versions of Windows, the System.ini, WIN.INI, and Winfile.ini. Windows 9x keeps these files for backward compatibility with 16 bit applications that can not access the windows registry. User.dat Is one of three files that make up the windows registry. It is located in c:\windows directory , but if User Profiles are enabled then users may have there setting stored in c:\windows\profiles USER.DAT contains the following settings:
The other two files that make up the registry are: System.dat Contains all the hardware configuration, Plug and Play settings, and application settings. It is located in c:\windows as a hidden file. Policy.pol May override any settings contained in the other two registry files. And can contain additional data specific to a network .You do not need Policy.pol to run windows. SYSEDIT System Configuration Editor , can be found in c:\windows\system. This program allows you to edit protocol.ini, System.ini, win.ini, config.sys, and your autoexec.bat files. SYSTEM.INI In win 3.1 hardware setting were found here. Most configuration options for Windows 9x are now stored in the Registry and are no longer required in SYSTEM.INI. but this file is retained for backwards compatibility. MSCONFIG (98) This is the System Configuration Utility located at c:\windows\system\msconfig.exe. This program lets you troubleshoot system configuration problems, by removing entries with check boxes, reducing the chance of typing errors which may happen if you use Notepad or the System Configuration Editor. It also allows you to create a backup of your system files before you change anything. It allows you to remove programs that are automatically started when windows starts. COMMAND.COM DOS file that contains the DOS command processor, receives and executes operating system commands REGEDIT.EXE Registry Editor is a tool for displaying and editing the registry database. It is located in c:\Windows directory . If you are running win 2000 you should use regedit32 instead. SYSTEM.DAT Contains all the hardware configuration, Plug and Play settings, and application settings. It is located in c:\windows as a hidden file. RUN COMMAND where you enter a command in the windows run box interpreted by windows not DOS COMMAND LINE PROMPT where you enter a command in DOS which is interpreted and executed by command.com i.e.: c:\copy Windows 2000 BOOT.INI Contains information that reads on how to load win 2000 The BOOT.INI file has two sections, boot loader and operating systems. BOOT.INI contains the information that you see on the bootstrap loader screen , and if you have more than one OS gives you the choice of which OS to start. REGEDT32 (32-bit) win 2000 registry editor and is installed in the systemroot\system32 folder. REGEDIT win 9X registry editor, installed in the systemroot folder. REGEDIT is included with 2000 primarily for its search capability. You can use it to make changes in the registry, but not all functions or data types can be viewed or edited properly. Microsoft recommends that you use REGEDIT.EXE only for its search capabilities and that you use Regedt32.exe when it is necessary to edit the registry. REGEDIT does not provide the following functions or capabilities:
RUN CMD Click start button choose run type program you want to run or use the browse button. Win 2000 also has a command called RUNAS , which allows a user to run specific tools and programs with different permissions than the user's current logon provides. Syntax : RUNAS [/profile] [/env] [/netonly] /user:UserAccountName program Parameters:
NTLDR is the bootstrap loader for win 2000 , and is responsible for the following operations
NTLDR and the following files must be in the active partition of your hard drive.
NTDETECT.COM detects installed hardware during the win 2000 startup sequence. It passes this information to NTLDR and places a list in the registry. Ntdetect.com detects the following components:
NTBOOTDD.SYS Needed only if you are using a SCSI-controlled boot partition, and the SCSI adapter does not have a SCSI BIOS enabled. Command Prompt Procedures (Command syntax)
DIR Displays a list of files and sub
directories in a directory. Switches:
ATTRIB Displays or changes file attributes. attrib [+r|-r] [+a|-a] [+s|-s] [+h|-h] [[drive:][path] filename] [/s[/d]]
VER Displays OS version , VER /r also displays revision and if DOS is in HMA. MEM Displays information about allocated memory areas, free memory areas, and programs that are currently loaded into memory in DOS subsystem mem
/program or mem /p
SCANDISK Is a utility that checks your hard disk for logical (lost clusters, cross-linked files, directory structure) and physical errors on the drive. Scandisk can then repair the damaged areas. All window versions except NT come with scandisk. If you are using win 3.1 you have to exit to DOS and use its version. If you do not shut down the computer properly win 95 OSR2 and 98 will run the DOS version of scandisk automatically next time you start up your computer. Win 9x provides two versions of Scandisk: a graphical windows-based version Scandskw.exe and an DOS-based version Scandisk.exe. No matter which version name you type while in windows, either from the run box or a DOS prompt the windows version will run, you must exit to DOS to run its version. DEFRAG Starts Disk Defragmenter which rearranges files and un used space on your hard disk so that programs run faster. Files are stored in clusters and over time, as programs read and write to a hard disk, these clusters can become fragmented, that is spread throughout the drive. Causing the hard disk to jump all over the drive to read and write data. What defrag does is realign these clusters in sequence, so programs will load faster. In windows 98 Defragmenter also uses a process called Task Monitor which automatically monitors programs you use and records their disk access patterns, and number of times these programs are used. This information enables Defragmenter to favor more frequently used programs in optimizing the disk. When running Defragmenter you should always close all programs, and disable any screen savers. Windows 2000 automatically optimizes disk use. To optimize a disk manually, right-click it in My Computer, click Properties, and then, on the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. EDIT Starts Dos-based ASCII text editor. Syntax: EDIT [/B] [/H] [/R] [/S] [/nnn] [file]
XCOPY Copies files and directory trees. XCOPY is similar to the COPY command except that it has many more switches that allow considerable control over exactly what is copied when using wildcards. Syntax: XCOPY source [destination] [/Switches]
COPY Is used to copy one or more files to another location. Syntax: COPY source [destination] SETVER Some MS-DOS-based applications require a specific version of MS-DOS to be running. This file responds to applications that query for the version number and sets the version number required. This command is usually put into config.sys, but is now incorporated into the windows IO.SYS file. Example of line in config.sys. device=c:\windows\setver.exe SCANREG Runs the Registry Checker program, which scans your registry. If Registry Checker notices a problem, it automatically replaces the registry with the backup copy. Windows comes with a DOS version Scanreg.exe located in \windows\command and an windows version Scanregw.exe located in \windows Command line options for Registry Checker To restore the backup manually
ScanReg and ScanRegW
ScanRegW only
ScanReg only
Error Codes
1.2 Identify basic concepts and procedures for creating, viewing and managing files, directories and disks. This includes procedures for changing file attributes and the ramifications of those changes (for example, security issues). Content may include the following: File attributes - Read Only, Hidden, System, and Archive attributes ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] filespec [/S]
The Read-only attribute Before you can delete or overwrite a Read-only file, you must remove the Read-only file attribute bit. The Hidden and System attribute The purpose of the Hidden attribute is to make the file invisible in certain applications' file list display. These are usually important files the OS does not want you to play around with. The System attribute, just as the name implies are usually files the OS needs to operate. In most Win systems, you will find about twenty files in the root directory which are marked both Hidden and System. These two attributes are often go hand in hand. The Archive attribute The purpose of the Archive attribute is to determine whether a file requires a back up (archiving). The Archive attribute is set whenever an existing file is either overwritten or modified. A new file is usually created with the Archive attribute set. When you run the a back up program it will copy these archived files and then clear the Archive attribute, until the file is modified again. File naming conventions (Most common extensions) bat This is a batch file, commands may be put in here that run programs. cab Cabinet file. Cab files contain multiple compressed files. com These are MSDOS executables drv Drivers dll Dynamic Link Library exe Executable files inf Windows software or hardware information file. ini Windows program initialization file. mpd Miniport driver sys System file bmp Bitmap image file. gif Image file. jpeg Image file. pif Program Information File. Used to start MSDOS applications in Windows 98. vxd Virtual device driver zip Compressed file Windows 2000 COMPRESS, ENCRYPT Compress Windows 2000 uses compression similar to DriveSpace in windows 98, but unlike DriveSpace which compress entire volumes, it can compress individual files and folders. You can compress files and folders only on drives formatted with NTFS, also compressed files and folders cannot be encrypted If you add or copy a file into a compressed folder, it is compressed automatically. If you move a file from a different NTFS drive into a compressed folder, it is also compressed. However, if you move a file from the same NTFS drive into a compressed folder, the file retains its original state, either compressed or uncompressed. To compress a file or folder
To remove compression from a file or folder, follow directions above and uncheck the Compress contents to save disk space box Encrypt Windows 2000 includes greater security than other versions of windows, with its Encrypting File System (EFS). It is based on public and private key encryption. The file system automatically generates an encryption certificate for the user along with a private key. You can encrypt individual files or folders, only on the NTFS file system. When a user is logged on, they don't have to decrypt files to use them EFS automatically detects an encrypted file, locates the users private key and decrypts the file. To encrypt a file or folder
To remove encryption from a file or folder, follow directions above and uncheck the Encrypt Contents To Secure Data box. You can also encrypt file and folders from the DOS command prompt using cipher.exe If you do not use any command line options cipher will just display the encryption status of the folder. cipher [/e | /d] [/s:dir] [/i] [/q] [dirname]
IDE/SCSI IDE (Integrated Device Electronics) / EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics) A type of disk drive interface in which the controller resides on the device itself. SCSI(Small Computer System Interface) A standard high speed parallel interface, used for connecting peripherals such as hard drives, printers etc. You need an adapter card for SCSI devices. Internal/External Internal commands are built into COMMAND.COM. External commands are separate files and usually have an extension of .COM, .EXE, or .BAT.
Backup/Restore Each time Windows 95 starts, it backs up the Registry by copying the current SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT files to SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0 Windows 98 comes with Scanreg If you have trouble starting windows 95/98 you can use a Start Up Disk, to create one, go to add/remove in control panel select Start Up Disk. The Startup Disk is a bootable system disk with a collection of real-mode Windows 9x commands and utilities that you can use to restart your computer, 98 also adds a generic CD ROM driver, and other utilities. Emergency Recovery Utility The Microsoft Windows 95 Emergency Recovery Utility is designed to provide a backup of your system configuration in case a problem should occur. Windows 2000 Emergency Repair Disk The Emergency Repair Disk (ERD) can help you to repair or recover a system that can't load Windows 2000. The ERD helps you repair problems with system files and the partition boot sector. This situation occurs when your hard disk fails or when some of your system files are corrupted or accidentally deleted. System files are the files Windows 2000 uses to load, configure, and run the operating system. If some system files are missing or corrupted, you can use the ERD to repair those files. Widows 2000 Recovery Console Users can use the Recovery Console to repair Windows. This command-line utility can be used to copy system files, disable and enable services or drivers, repairing the Master Boot Record, etc. Only administrators have access to the Recovery. Msbackup.exe A built-in application that you run to back up the data or your entire system to prevent the loss of data in the event of hardware failure Name: Msbackup.exe Location: \program files\accessories \backup\msbackup.exe Win 95 backup only supports QIC 40, 80, & 3010. tape drives Win 98 msbackup supports the following:
Partitioning/Formatting/File System FAT File allocation table refers to a disk format, which is a way of organizing the storage space on a hard disk. The table organizes information about the files on the hard disk, representing each one as a chain of numbers that identifies where each part of a file is located. The operating system uses it to look up a file and find which clusters that file is written to on the hard disk. FAT16 Supports drives up to 2 gigabytes in size. Fat16 is the most compatible file system, not only can all windows versions use it but many other OS's also. FAT32 Supports drives of up to 2 terabytes in size. FAT32 also reduces the cluster size on large drives, freeing up more space. Cluster sizes of FAT16 and FAT32
NTFS5 Updated NTFS for windows 2000,NTFS The NTFS file system is the recommended file system for use with Windows 2000. NTFS has all of the basic capabilities of FAT, and it provides the following advantages over the FAT and FAT 32 file systems:
HPFS High Performance File System is the file system used with OS/2. Windows NT 3.51 supported partitions formatted with HPFS , but it did not support formatting new drives as HPFS. In Windows NT 4.0, the support for HPFS was eliminated. File Systems that windows supports
Windows-based utilities ScanDisk Used to check your hard disk for logical and physical errors. ScanDisk can then repair the damaged areas. All window versions except NT come with scandisk. If you do not shut down the computer properly win 95 OSR2 and 98 will run scandisk automatically next time you start up your computer. Device manager Access it from control panel system icon. With Device Manager you can
Computer Manager The Computer Management Console in Windows 2000 brings a variety of the win 2000 system and disk tools together in one user interface. Some Tools you can access with Computer Manager
MSCONFIG.EXE This is the System Configuration Utility located at c:\windows\system\msconfig.exe. This program lets you troubleshoot system configuration problems, by removing entries with check boxes, reducing the chance of typing errors which may happen if you use Notepad or the System Configuration Editor. It also allows you to create a backup of your system files before you change anything. It allows you to remove programs that are automatically started when windows starts. REGEDIT.EXE is installed in the systemroot folder. REGEDIT is used to edit the registry. REGEDT32.EXE (32-bit) is the win 2000 registry editor and is installed in the systemroot\system32 folder. ATTRIB.EXE Displays or changes file attributes. attrib [+r|-r] [+a|-a] [+s|-s] [+h|-h] [[drive:][path] filename] [/s[/d]]
EXTRACT.EXE can be found in the \Windows\Command directory. In Windows 98/2000 you can view and extract CAB files using Windows Explorer. In Windows 95, you had to use the command-line Extract.exe program to extract CAB files. DEFRAG.EXE Is a utility that checks your hard disk for logical (lost clusters, cross-linked files, directory structure) and physical errors on the drive. ScanDisk can then repair the damaged areas. All window versions except NT come with scandisk. If you are using win 3.1 you have to exit to DOS and use its version. If you do not shut down the computer properly win 95 OSR2 and 98 will run the DOS version of scandisk automatically next time you start up your computer. Win 9x provides two versions of ScanDisk: a graphical windows-based version Scandskw.exe and an DOS-based version Scandisk.exe. No matter which version name you type while in windows, either from the run box or a DOS prompt the windows version will run, you must exit to DOS to run its version. Windows 2000 automatically optimizes disk use. To optimize a disk manually, right-click it in My Computer, click Properties, and then, on the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. EDIT.COM Starts Dos-based text editor. FDISK.EXE is an MS-DOS-based application that is run from the DOS command line. You use fdisk to partition your hard drives. If you enable large disk support, any drives created will be FAT32. You will have to use a boot disk created from the OS you used to partition the drive, as win 95/NT cannot read FAT32 partitions (win95 ORS 2 does support Fat32) Fdisk is not needed with windows 2000 as Disk Management prepares hard disks. SYSEDIT.EXE Starts System Configuration Editor , can be found in c:\windows\system. This program allows you to edit protocol.ini, system.ini, win.ini, config.sys, and your autoexec.bat files. SCANREG Runs the Registry Checker program, which scans your registry. If Registry Checker notices a problem, it automatically replaces the registry with the backup copy. Registry Checker runs each time Windows starts. Windows comes with a DOS version Scanreg.exe located in \windows\command and an windows version Scanregw.exe located in \windows WSCRIPT.EXE Windows Scripting Host (WSH) is a simple, powerful, and flexible scripting solution for the 32-bit Windows platform. WSH allows scripts—including those written in VBScript and JavaScript—to be run directly on the Windows desktop without being embedded in an HTML document. This low-memory scripting host is ideal for non-interactive scripting needs, such as logon and administrative scripting. WSH can be run from either the Windows-based host (Wscript.exe) or the command-shell–based host (Cscript.exe). HWINFO.EXE Hardware Diagnostic command line tool provides the same information as the Microsoft System Information Tool, it is color coded with blue text as warnings and red text as problems. To run type hwinfo.exe /ui switch. It will not run without the switch. ASD.EXE (Automatic Skip Driver) Detects devices that prevent Windows from starting. Located at c:\windows It will automatically disable device drivers or operations that fail during startup. You can start the Automatic Skip Driver Agent from the tools menu in the System Information Utility. Cvt1.EXE (Drive Converter FAT16 to FAT32) This utility converts a hard drive from FAT16 to FAT32. Win 98 does not include a utility for converting a drive back to FAT16 once you have converted it to FAT32.
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